Welcome back to the Fresh Batch, music lovers! We return with our monthly new-music column absolutely packed with phenomenal sounds.
With summer coming fast and furious (stay cool out there, folks!), we’ve rounded up a selection of lovely summertime releases. Dig in, swim around and enjoy…
Continue reading “Fresh Batch – June 2022”
Flying in the Sky is an experimental post-vaporwave album by BROKEN KIDZ (aka VDMR) presented by the good folks over at Engram Recordings.
The album is a beautiful swirl of psychedelic downtempo beats lathered in vaporwave inspiration. Thick with reverberation – Flying in the Sky takes the listener on a hazy, blissed-out journey – complete with in flight cocktails and complimentary entertainment!
Spanning 12 tracks, the album is a nice long listen with lots of creativity to get lost in. BROKEN KIDZ does a great job of meditating on each tracks nuances, allowing room for lots of riffs and concepts to breath. Tracks like Cross Faded are a magnificent shoegaze expedition in a gigantic geode encrusted cavern. The sound is a lovely balance between popular vaporwave tropes and experimental electronic influences, with flavors of harsh noise and grunge peeking through the layers. The droning vocals add a distinct touch to the style, injecting sensations of post-rock and drugged up punkers.
All in all it’s a nice release, definitely worth a listen or three. For fans of the more experimental side of vaporwave. You can listen and download now via Engram Recordings bandcamp page!
It is that time again….
April brought us a wealth of excellent new sounds.
Things tended to trend on the “Cozy” side this past month – whether grounded in ambience, bedroom pop or some other genre – producers and musicians found themselves harnessing the pleasant rather than the problematic.
Without further delay, enjoy this months FRESH BATCH!
We are cutting through the noise this month, bringing you a heaping-helping of new music!
Forget the drama, throw on your best headphones or crank up those speakers, it’s time to discover some fresh sounds….
Well HELLO there readers! It certainly has been a while since we had one of these!
We are very pleased to announce the return of the FRESH BATCH – a monthly roundup of the freshest and finest sounds from the underground!
The goal of the FRESH BATCH is to provide a one-stop shop for some quality music. Too busy to browse through Bandcamp tags or thumb through your social media feeds?! We got you.
Thanks to our over 6 years of experience combing through labels, collectives, blogs, PR blasts and pure curiosity – we collect interesting and inspiring sounds every single month – trim the fat and hand deliver it…..FRESH.
Continue reading “Fresh Batch – February 2021”
Brought to us by the ever-amazing Bogus Collective, we have a lovely full-length classic vaporwave album by Fester’s Quest titled FANCY FEAST (blue label). Now – was I attracted to listen to this album simply because there was a cat on the cover art? Yes. But as anticipated the sounds within are clever and enjoyable – utilizing a very classic and traditional flavor of vaporwave, FQ takes the listeners hand gently and guides us through the fuzzy haze. The project is overwhelmingly instrumental, lacking the pitched-down and chopped vocals one would expect in such vaporsounds – instead opting for melodies and riffs on the guitar. The result is quite nice, making this record great for background listening where you want just a little more interesting flavor in your ambience.
You can download the album now at Name-Your-Own-Price via BC’s Bandcamp page, or visit Fester’s bandcamp to explore further and support the artist directly!
Fresh things from Dream Museum Records – it’s the self-titled EP from CTRL 94 (Kayla Smith). A 7-track project that drifts around ambient vaporwave and synthwave styles, with a heavy lean towards a luscious feeling of nostalgia. Loads of playful synthesizers and hearty drum machine grooves keep the listeners attention throughout the project. There’s a very strong sense of melody on a lot of these tracks, lending to the feeling of nostalgia even more especially in the middle few tracks, which sound distinctly like some b-sides off a mid-80’s producers power pop demos in the absolute best way possible. Funky flavors of reminiscent of The Time and other prince protégés, memorable riffs sticking in your head throughout the day, beckoning for you to return. Download the digital or pick up a Cassette while they’re still available!
With many of us approaching one-month in isolation, it is nice to see the fruits of labor starting to surface. Bandcamp is thick with new projects from artists all over the world. Inspired by, or perhaps in spite of solitude, creativity is flourishing regardless the reason! Time to click play and bask in some magnificent creations…
4/23 – Healing Lullabies, by Heavenchord (spclnch) Ambient Techno
recovery girl (Deluxe Edition) (Orange Milk Records) IDM
5/5 Self Fulfilling Prophecy, by MCBN (Social Harmony) Beat Collage
Hypomnesia, by Diskette Park
Self Released
Slushwave / eccojams / Future Funk
CLEAR SKIES 第1巻, by Life Network
Released by Vivarium Recordings
Experimental Vaporwave / Lofi / Slushwave
Daily Haikus, by Aetuun
Released by Illuminated Paths
Lofi / Experimental / Vaporwave
幸運, by 𝙳𝚒𝚐𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝
Released by Tomorrow Entertainment Records
Vaporwave / Lofi / Mallsoft
Virtual Distance, by Various Artists
Released by Section 9
Experimental / Post Vaporwave / Compilation
The Art Of Whisper, by Wonderful Beasts
Released by Wormhole World
Experimental / Chillout / Electronic
Green Horizon / Hiki split EP
Self Released
Shoegaze / Post-Rock / Dream Pop
Side 2, by The Neverending Trio
Released by Ingrown Records
Experimental / Jazz / Psychedelic
Particulate, by Vimana Aircraft
Released by DaP Station
Lofi / Psychedelic / Beats
Too Stupid to be Anxious, by Shifted
Released by Avian
Techno / Experimental / Lofi
Air, by Naph + Chihei Hatakeyama
Released by White Paddy Mountain
Ambient / Drone / Electro Acoustic
Lost in Time, by Kowalski Room
Self Released
Atmospheric / Chillout / Ambient
INTENCOJ, by Nkujarks
Experimental Electronic / IDM / Dark Ambient
Fresh from the Seikomart gang is SOUND SYSTEM 9 by MISE – a self proclaimed Vaportrap album with heavy flavors of video game soundtracks. Melodic riffs are as enticing as the huge 808 drums, tuned kicks flying around with a flurry of hi-hats. There’s nice variety on the album too, not sticking to traditional *trap* patterns for every track – instead opting to hop around the vaporspace while also taking cues from chiptune realms and deep house.
The overall style manages to remain playful and lighthearted even when the biggest percussion is slapping – juxtaposed with joyful synths plucking around the atmosphere. Tracks can get quite wonky at times, with detuned bass occasionally clashing with melodies and harmonies, however it all really adds to the charm – taking on a whole new destroyed club partyboi vibe that I personally really dig. FASTBOOT is a great example of this style. Very excited to hear more from this producer…
Eternity Tree 